My beloved cat was poisoned to death. It was the last gift my gravely ill mother gave me from her hospital bed five years ago. It had accompanied me through countless sleepless nights, and the warm comfort I clung to while crying after every failed IVF attempt.

While clearing out the cat's belongings, I unexpectedly discovered purchase records showing multiple deliveries of dog supplies to a villa over the past three months.

But I was always terrified of dogs, and only my husband, Thomas Crawford, and I had access to the membership card.

Driven by suspicion, I secretly visited the villa listed in the records. There, at the entrance, I witnessed my husband, Thomas, passionately kissing my half-sister, Joan Lawrence—the very woman who had made my childhood a living hell. At their feet stood a large Border Collie, wagging its tail.

Joan's eyes narrowed seductively as she clung to Thomas. "Tom, will Victoria Lawrence agree to donate her bone marrow to me? After all, she is pregnant."

“I poisoned her beloved cat. She's heartbroken and showing signs of miscarriage. Once she's on the operating table, we can do whatever we want with her.”

“When your illness is cured, and the company’s assets are transferred, I’ll marry you right away. We’ll have our own child.”

Thomas did not care at all about the life of my beloved pet, who had accompanied me for years, nor about our child’s life. He cared even less for the agony I endured through five rounds of IVF to conceive this child.

I secretly used my phone to record everything.

Then I called Thomas directly. "Where are you? What are you doing?"

I watched him answer the call while still hugging Joan's waist tightly, planting a peck on her lips. “I’m in a meeting. What’s wrong?”

I sneered and looked at everything that was laid out before me. Thomas's company was built with the Lawrence Family's financial support, but he didn’t know that the true power behind the Lawrence family now was me.

If that were the case, I would take back everything that I had given him.

The light in front of the villa cast long shadows of them kissing.

With my own eyes, I watched as my husband's hands lingered on my half-sister's waist; it was the same familiar gesture that he had used to caress me as well.

Who would have thought that the pet store's transaction records would lead me here and to witness all this?

Instinctively, I clutched my abdomen as I recalled the doctor's warning. “Miss Lawrence, you're showing signs of miscarriage. You must avoid any major emotional fluctuations. This child was not easy to have.”

I fought desperately to suppress the churning emotions. Five rounds of IVF, countless days and nights of hope and disappointment, had finally brought this tiny life into being. I couldn't lose the child.

“Tom, I'm scheduled for a bone marrow transplant next week. Do you think Victoria will really agree to donate? She's pregnant, after all...” Joan nestled into Thomas's embrace as she traced circles on his chest with her fingers.

“I poisoned her beloved cat. She's heartbroken and showing signs of miscarriage. Tonight, I'll light the aromatherapy candles. Once she bleeds and is hospitalized, we can do whatever we want to her.”

My breathing stopped.

Turned out, for Joan, Thomas poisoned Ali to death to stimulate my miscarriage.

Ali was an adorable, white, long-haired cat that was given as a last gift from my mother at her hospital bed. “Victoria, Mom can't stay with you anymore. Let Ali take Mom's place, okay?”

Since then, every late night after a failed IVF cycle, every night my husband came home late from business dinners, and every time my father favored Joan and treated me with indifference, it was Ali that curled up in my arms, its gentle purring slowly mending my broken heart back together.

But three days ago, Ali suddenly foamed at the mouth and died in my arms. Those amber eyes gazed at me until the very end—like a farewell, yet also filled with confusion.

At that time, Thomas had held me with reddened eyes, his voice choked with emotion. “Victoria, don’t be too sad. Ali has gone to keep your mother company.”

I had thought he understood my grief. Now I realized that the one who killed Ali was the very man who held me and comforted me. That was terrifying.

“When you’re cured, and the company’s assets are transferred, I’ll divorce her and marry you immediately. We’ll have our own child.” He kissed Joan’s forehead tenderly.

I dug my nails deep into my palms, lifted my phone, and activated the video recording function to record everything before my eyes. My hands trembled along with my heart.

Thomas had no idea about the envelope my mother had slipped to me secretly before her death—it contained the share transfer agreement for 50% shares of the Lawrence Group.

Back then, consumed by grief over my mother's loss and Thomas's meticulous care, I locked those documents in a bank safe deposit box and nearly forgot about them.

Thomas's company was founded four years ago using the Lawrence Family's capital and connections.

He always believed that the Lawrence family was now in the hands of Joan and her mother. That was why he treated me, the unfavored eldest daughter, with a superficial marital relationship.

What he did not know was that the true power behind the Lawrence Group was the very wife he dismissed as "a person who only knew how to cry and could not even take care of a cat."

I encrypted the video and sent it to my lawyer. [Help me investigate everything, especially Joan’s illness. Also, my mother’s agreement can be activated in seven days.]

Then, I dialed Thomas's number.

I watched from nearby as the man frowned, took out his phone, and made a shush gesture to Joan, before switching to a gentle tone, “Victoria, what's wrong?”

“Where are you? What are you doing?” My voice was so calm, even I was a little surprised.

Thomas answered while still wrapping his arm around Joan's waist. “I'm in a meeting, and it's an urgent project. Are you feeling unwell? I'll come home early today.”

Watching this scene, my eyes stung.

I remembered the rainy night of my first failed IVF attempt. I had sat in the hospital’s icy corridor, crying uncontrollably. Thomas had rushed through the rain, soaked to the bone, and pulled me into his arms.

“It's okay, Victoria. We have each other, it's enough. Even without a child, I'll love you forever.”

Back then, I truly believed him.

“Is it really urgent?” My voice cracked, though I knew the answer; I couldn't help asking.

There was a pause on the other end before Thomas's voice softened further. “Are you scared of being home alone? I'll finish this meeting and come back to be with you, okay?”

“No need.” I hung up the phone abruptly, turned, and left the villa with faltered steps.

Before getting into the car, I couldn't resist glancing back.

The lights on the villa's second floor were on, so the two figures embracing so intimately were illuminated so glaringly.

Once upon a time, we were that deeply in love, too. But now he had poisoned my cat and was planning to drug me to kill our child, for the sake of another woman.

I silently bit my lips and drove straight to the hospital.

At some point, heavy rain began to fall from the sky, and my tears slowly fell. My mind was filled with the overlapping images of Thomas, the man I had loved for years, being with Joan.

Suddenly, without warning, a car from the right lane sped up toward me.

Panicked, I jerked the steering wheel, but it was too late.

Bang!

With a deafening loud noise and a huge impact, the world was spinning around me. A severe pain exploded from my abdomen, and warm liquid gushed down my inner thighs, instantly soaking my skirt.

My child!

The instinct to survive made me push the door open with all my strength and struggle to crawl away.

At that moment, the person in the black sedan that had hit me stepped out of the car and walked slowly and deliberately toward me.

With great difficulty, I lifted my head. Through blood and rain, I saw my stepmother, Joan’s mother.

With an umbrella in her hand, she stood above me, looking down at me. I tried to speak, but darkness washed over me like a tide.

The last thing I saw was her cold, merciless gaze and the faint curve of her lips.

When I opened my eyes again, the smell of antiseptic filled the air.

“Victoria, you're finally awake! Thank goodness!”

I slowly turned my head toward Thomas. His eyes were bloodshot, stubble sprouted on his chin, and he looked utterly exhausted. The look in his eyes held pain, guilt, and a complex mix of emotions I couldn't quite name.

Joan was also standing behind him, with just the right amount of worry on her face.

“Victoria, you had a car accident, and your child couldn't be saved. Don't be too sad. Your health is important.”

As I looked at Thomas, and waves of pain throbbed in my stomach, I felt the man before me extremely unfamiliar.

At that moment, the ward door was flung open, and my father, Elliot Lawrence, stormed in with an ashen face and slapped me across the face.

Smack!

The force jerked my head to the side, and a faint metallic taste spread in my mouth.

Thomas exclaimed, "Dad!”

My father pointed at my nose, his voice cold and harsh as his gaze swept over my flat stomach with disgust.

“Victoria, you are absolutely a failure! You couldn’t even protect your own child. Were you that careless? What is Thomas supposed to do now? How about the Lawrence family's reputation?”

“Dad...” I tried to speak, but my throat was too hoarse to make a sound.

“Don't call me Dad!” he cut me off harshly.

"Since you're so useless and can't even bear children, do something useful. Joan needs a bone marrow donor. You’re her sister, aren’t you? So, get your health back quickly and prepare to donate bone marrow to her. That’s probably your only value now."

Every word my father spoke pierced my heart.

Sure enough, everyone was counting on me to sacrifice myself to save my sister.

My father used to cherish me most, but everything changed after my stepmother and Joan entered the family. I had become the unwanted presence in this family.

Slowly, I lowered my hands from my face and looked at the people in front of me.

At Thomas, his eyes filled with guilt, though hopeful, toward Joan, who desperately tried to hide her delight, and at my father, who was scrutinizing me with anger.

What a “harmonious” and bitterly ironic bedside scene.

Just then, the ward door swung open.

"Victoria, I’m here to take you away!”

When I looked up, I found none other than my childhood sweetheart, Hugh Stone.

Hugh was the president of the Stone Consortium, a true figure at the very top of the pyramid. His company's assets had far surpassed the Lawrence Group.

He strode straight toward me, his tall figure casting a shadow that nearly engulfed me.

“Victoria,” his voice was low and steady, “I've come to take you away.”

There were no empty words of comfort, just a simple statement, yet it brought a long-lost sense of security.

Thomas's expression instantly darkened. He strode forward, blocking the space between Hugh and me.

“Mr. Stone, Victoria is my wife. She needs rest and won't be going anywhere. Please don't interfere in our family affairs.”

Hugh didn’t even look at him. He simply helped me to get out of bed and set me into a wheelchair.

"Hugh!" Thomas's voice rose. “By what right are you taking her away?”

"Victoria, so you've already found a new man? Are you this eager? This shameless?”

Before I could react, a sharp thud rang out.

Thud!

Hugh turned around abruptly and slammed a punch on Thomas's jaw. The force was so great that Thomas staggered and fell backwards, hitting the wall with a cry of pain. Blood immediately appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Hugh shook his fist and towered over the disheveled Thomas.

"Thomas, this punch is for Victoria. If I hear another word of insult from your mouth, I won’t hesitate to show the Crawford Family what it means to be destroyed!"

Thomas's face turned from red to white. Meanwhile, my father, who had been so aggressive to me before, was cowering to the side at this moment, too afraid to speak.

Just then, the sound of hurried high heels echoed through the room. My stepmother, Joan's mother, rushed in.

“Wait! You can't leave!” She grabbed the armrest of my wheelchair. “I've arranged everything. Joan will have her bone marrow transplantation tomorrow. You absolutely cannot leave!”

I lifted my eyes and slowly brushed her hand off the armrest.

“What surgery?” My voice was unnaturally calm. “I don’t agree.”

“What?” my stepmother shrieked. “What do you mean you don’t agree? She’s your sister!”

I looked into her eyes and said word by word, “I have entrusted the Stone Consortium's legal department and private investigators to re-investigate my car accident.”

The color drained from her face. Terror and panic flashed in her eyes. “What nonsense are you spouting? It was an accident. The police closed the case. Victoria, have you lost your mind?”

Her panic and loss of composure were starkly obvious to everyone present. Even my father looked with suspicion and disbelief.

Hugh personally pushed my wheelchair. “Let's go.”

I hadn't expected that the moment I arrived at the Stone family villa to recuperate, Thomas would follow close behind.

I watched him standing rigidly in the pouring rain, his gaze filled with a near-obsessive plea. And I knew all of it was for Joan.

Hugh sat next to me. His eyes were deep and serious. “Should we let him in, or have someone escort him out?”

I watched Thomas in the rain in silence. If this were the past, his posture might have softened my heart. But now, I only felt truly disgusted.

“If we make a scene now, the media will be on it, and this won't benefit me in reclaiming the Lawrence family. Six more days. I need time, and I also need Joan’s medical records. Without solid evidence, I can’t expose their lies.”

I analyzed the pros and cons calmly. Hugh’s appearance had successfully saved me from the hospital and spared me from being forced into surgery, but the road ahead, I would have to walk it myself.

Hugh was silent for a moment. Then he gently patted the top of my head and sighed. “Do what you need to do. Just remember—the entire Stone Consortium stands behind you. Six days from now, no matter the outcome, I’ll come for you.”

I nodded and walked toward Thomas. “I'll go back with you. I'm willing to donate to save Joan.”

Thomas's eyes flashed with disbelief.

"But the Stone Consortium's doctors have examined me. My health is too poor right now. They said I need at least six days of rest and observation before a bone marrow transplant can proceed.”

Six days—the exact timeframe for the “Seven-Day Plan” to be finalized.

Hardly without hesitation, Thomas nodded. “Alright, I'll do whatever you say. As long as you're willing to go back and save Joan, I'll do anything!”

I stared coldly at the man before me, who was pleading desperately for my stepsister's sake.

A cold smile touched my lips.

Thomas, I hope you will still be able to smile in the end.